SLAYER’S SEASONS IN THE ABYSS AND MEGADETH’S RUST IN PEACE TO BE CORNERSTONES OF “AMERICAN CARNAGE” LIVE SETS

“I’m feeling great and anxious to get back on the road.”

— Slayer’s post-op Tom Araya

“If you missed us playing with our friends Slayer back in the 90s, well, here’s your chance to make it up to yourself. If you miss it this time, well then you ain’t metal anyway!”

— Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine

“We’ve been sitting home for six months…I can’t remember the last time

I wanted to tour so bad.”

— Slayer’s Kerry King

Slayer

LOS ANGELES, CA – Monday, April 26, 2010 — Megadeth and Slayer, who last toured the U.S. together nineteen years ago on the “Clash of the Titans” extravaganza, have confirmed that they will each perform, start to finish, their 1990 releases – Slayer’s world-wide, million-selling Seasons In The Abyss and Megadeth’s Platinum Rust InPeace – on the upcoming Canadian and American Carnage Tours. The six-date Canadian Carnage kicks off July 23 in Quebec City, while the 19-city American Carnage dates begin August 11 in Glens Falls, NY (complete itinerary is below). With Slayer and Megadeth co-headlining, Testament will be Special Guest on all dates.

Tickets purchased for the Canadian and American Carnage shows when they first went on sale late last year will be honored for these rescheduled dates. Complete information regarding ticket sales can be found at www.slayer.net . www.megadeth.com . www.testamentlegions.com

1990 was one stellar year for fans of intense heavy metal, as both Rust in Peace and Seasons in the Abyss and are considered to be among the genre’s all-time classics. “War Ensemble,” “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due,” “Dead Skin Mask,” “Hangar 18,” “Seasons in the Abyss” – the preeminent list of metal standards that these two albums spawned has rarely been matched by others. Click HERE to see the original music video (shot in Egypt) for Slayer’s “Seasons in the Abyss,” and HERE for “Holy Wars,” Megadeth’s first music video from Rust In Peace.

Slayer – guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo – scored a major breakthrough upon the original release of Seasons in the Abyss (Slayer’s fifth studio album overall), as it was the group’s first album to hit the US Top 40, and saw Slayer playing to the biggest crowds of their career with 91’s Clash of the Titans tour.

Megadeth’s fourth album, Rust In Peace saw the band cement their status as one of the most important metal bands with masterpieces like “Hanger 18” and “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due,” as well as a top 25 debut on the Billboard charts. The album has been hailed as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time with IGN recently naming it one of the most influential metal albums ever. Megadeth is now rejoined by original bassist Dave Ellefson and are firing on all cylinders.

The American Carnage Tour, originally scheduled to take place in January and February, had to be postponed due to Slayer’s vocalist/bassist, Tom Araya’s treatment for severe back pain, an occupational hazard for the rocker who is known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing. A surgical procedure in January corrected the problem once and for all, and he felt better almost immediately.

“Right after the surgery, ” said Araya, “I could tell that the issue was fixed. There’s no more pain, it just feels really good. I’m really excited and I’m anxious to get together with the rest of the guys and start rehearsing again. We cancelled two tours, and I don’t feel great about that, but I couldn’t deal with the pain anymore, and that’s now completely gone. I know the fans are excited to see the band – the tour is on, we’re keeping our word, there will be no more cancellations.”

Complete dates for the Megadeth/Slayer Canadian and American Carnage are as follows:

Canadian Carnage

JULY

23 Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC CANADA

24 Heavy MTL, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC CANADA

26 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS CANADA

27 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB CANADA

29 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ONT CANADA

30 John Labatt Centre Center, London, ONT CANADA

American Carnage

AUGUST

11 Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY

12 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ

14 Tsongas Arena, Boston, MA

15 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ

16 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT

18 Tower City Amphitheatre, Cleveland, OH

19 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

20 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL

21 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN

23 Cap Fed Park @Sandstone, Kansas City, KS

25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO

26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM

27 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ

29 Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA

30 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA

31 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA

SEPTEMBER

1 Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA

3 Wamu Theatre, Seattle, WA

4 Washington County Fairgrounds, Portland, OR

# # #

SLAYER

Slayer. The Chicago Tribune‘s Greg Kot wrote that Slayer is “one of the great American rock bands of the last 30 years, forget about genre.” Indeed, few bands come close to matching the intensity that Slayer – guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo – bring to its live shows, having been named “Best Live Band” by numerous media outlets including Revolver, SPIN, and Metal Hammer. 2009’s World Painted Blood (American Recordings) offers a Slayer-ized point of view of our world – God’s terrifying global genocide, the chaos of our broken political system, the way-too-close proximity of world horrors that technology has brought us, and a chilling hypothesis of how the rest of the world might view America. The album was recorded in Los Angeles over two time periods, during October 2008 and then between late January and March 2009. World Painted Blood was produced by Greg Fidelman who has spent time in the studio with Metallica, the Gossip, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Slipknot and others, and executive produced by long-time Slayer colleague Rick Rubin, who suggested Fidelman for the project. One reviewer called the album “the heaviest, bloodiest and best album in almost two decades.” World Painted Blood landed on boatloads of U.S. and International “Best of” lists for 2009, and N.A.R.A.S. saw fit to bestow its fourth Grammy nomination on Slayer – Best Metal Performance for the WPB track, “Hate Worldwide.” For “American Carnage,” Slayer’s Tom Araya promises, “no ballads, no acoustic numbers, no slow tempos.”

MEGADETH

Megadeth. 2009 saw the release of ENDGAME, which has been heralded as Megadeth’s best album in years. It’s the record where it all comes full circle in a career that has not only set standards in hard rock and metal, but defined them. Megadeth’s signature shredding and rousing lyrics are the hallmarks of ENDGAME, with vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine once again musing and making declarations about the world we live in, having named the album after a government document that should strike fear in the hearts of Americans! But that’s Mustaine and Megadeth, using the vehicle of music to shake things up, to make a point and to rattle your brain, literally, figuratively and sonically. Revolver magazine said of ENDGAME, “One of their best albums.” VH1’s ‘That Metal Show’ deemed it “One of the metal albums of the year,” and Popmatters said, “the record positively scorches with an intensity not heard since Rust in Peace.” The band was also awarded the eighth Grammy nomination of its career for “Head Crusher,” which serves as more proof that ENDGAME is quickly earning “essential” status in the Megadeth catalog. Megadeth has teamed with ILoveAllAccess.com to offer Ultimate Fan Packages. For more info, go to www.megadeth.com

TESTAMENT

Legendary thrash metal titans Testament, whose latest award-winning release (2008 Album of the Year, Metal Hammer‘s Golden God Award) The Formation of Damnation, displays them as the quintessential modern heavy metal band, whose experience and accumulated skill allows them to attack with reserves of anger, energy and finesse that make them more powerful than ever. Lead singer Chuck Billy says, “My first memories of playing with Slayer were in New York, they were our first shows even before we had a record out. We got spit on for the first three songs and then the fans turned it around and started headbanging and fist pumping. It was great and the shows were the heaviest and fondest memories of Testament touring with Slayer.”

Added Alex Skolnick, “It’s hard to believe that we actually toured together twenty years ago. With everyone just a little bit older and wiser, I believe this time around will be even more fun. It’s great that these three bands, Slayer, Megadeth and Testament, are not only still going strong, but sounding better than ever. I’m really looking forward to American Carnage as I’m sure all the fans are.”

Los Angeles, CA – February 1, 2010 — Slayer and Megadeth are thrilled to announce the new, confirmed routing for the American Carnage North American Tour, which will commence with the rescheduled Canadian Carnage East dates in Quebec City on Friday, July 23. Slayer will then head to Europe for a run of festival dates, returning to kick off the American Carnage leg in Albany, NY on August 11. American Carnage will play 26 dates across the United States and Eastern Canada up to the Labor Day weekend, ending in Portland, OR on September 4. Testament will be Special Guest on all shows. Tickets purchased for the American Carnage shows when they first went on sale late last year will be honored for these rescheduled dates. Complete information regarding ticket sales can be found at www.slayer.net • www.megadeth.com • www.testamentlegiions.com

Due to venue availability and other conflicts, the shows originally scheduled in El Paso, Houston, Nashville, Duluth, and Louisville cannot be rescheduled at this time, and ticket holders may obtain refunds at point of purchase. However, new cities have been added to the American Carnage itinerary, with dates now scheduled in Cleveland, Kansas City, San Diego, and Sacramento. The confirmed, complete itinerary is below.

The American Carnage Tour, originally scheduled to take place in January and February, had to be put on hold due to Slayer’s vocalist/bassist, Tom Araya’s ongoing, minimally-invasive treatments for what was diagnosed as a Cervical Radiculopathy, an occupational hazard for the rocker who is known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing. Right after the first of the year, Araya made the difficult decision to undergo a surgical procedure, called an Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion, a relatively routine practice with an excellent recovery rate. That surgery took place early last week.

“The doctors said that Tom’s surgery went very smoothly and was a resounding success,” said Rick Sales, long-time Slayer manager. “He’s home now, doing really well, and he said the numbness in his fingers had already diminished considerably.”

Shortly after the surgery, Slayer’s Kerry King received a text from Tom: “Awake and feeling good, actually whatever he did, it feels better.”

The American Carnage Tour will mark the first time that Slayer, Megadeth and Testament will have toured the U.S. together since 1991’s epic “Clash of the Titans” tour, making this truly a “must-see” event.

Slayer recently announced the rescheduling of its headline tour in the UK and Europe, and Megadeth and Testament are currently on tour together playing U.S. cities that will not be on the American Carnage itinerary.

Both Megadeth and Slayer will hit the road on July 23 in support of their most recent albums: Megadeth’s 2009 album, ENDGAME, and Slayer’s World Painted Blood, the band’s 10th studio venture, which hit stores November 3, 2009. Testament’s The Formation of Damnation: Special Tour Edition, will be released on February 23, 2010 with special unreleased bonus tracks.

Slayer and Megadeth have already massacred territories together outside of the U.S., first with four explosive dates in June 2009 across Western Canada – “Canadian Carnage” – the first time the bands had toured together anywhere in 18 years – and then six co-headlining “Carnage” dates in Australia followed last October.

According to various Canadian press outlets last summer: “It was a night of thrash impossible to trash…” “Tales about war, death, destruction, Satan, aliens and serial killers have never been so much fun…” “The two heavy metal heavyweights…went head-to-head on a level playing field. Both bands brought their ‘A’ game. And the results were anything but pretty – unless you include pretty freakin’ loud and pretty freakin’ awesome.”

Slayer. The Chicago Tribune‘s Greg Kot wrote that Slayer is “one of the great American rock bands of the last 30 years, forget about genre.” Indeed, few bands come close to matching the intensity that Slayer – guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo – bring to its live shows, having been named “Best Live Band” by numerous media outlets including Revolver, SPIN, and Metal Hammer. World Painted Blood offers a Slayer-ized point of view of our world – God’s terrifying global genocide, the chaos of our broken political system, the way-too-close proximity of world horrors that technology has brought us, and a chilling hypothesis of how the rest of the world might view America. The album was recorded in Los Angeles over two time periods, during October 2008 and then between late January and March 2009. World Painted Blood was produced by Greg Fidelman who has spent time in the studio with Metallica, the Gossip, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Slipknot and others, and executive produced by long-time Slayer colleague Rick Rubin, who suggested Fidelman for the project. One reviewer called the album “the heaviest, bloodiest and best album in almost two decades.” World Painted Blood landed on boatloads of U.S. and International “Best of” lists for 2009, and N.A.R.A.S. saw fit to bestow its fourth Grammy nomination on Slayer – Best Metal Performance for the WPB track, “Hate Worldwide.” For “American Carnage,” Slayer’s Tom Araya promises, “no ballads, no acoustic numbers, no slow tempos.”

Megadeth. 2009 saw the release of ENDGAME, which has been heralded as Megadeth’s best album in years. It’s the record where it all comes full circle in a career that has not only set standards in hard rock and metal, but defined them. Megadeth’s signature shredding and rousing lyrics are the hallmarks of ENDGAME, with vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine once again musing and making declarations about the world we live in, having named the album after a government document that should strike fear in the hearts of Americans! But that’s Mustaine and Megadeth, using the vehicle of music to shake things up, to make a point and to rattle your brain, literally, figuratively and sonically. Revolver magazine said of ENDGAME, “One of their best albums.” VH1’s ‘That Metal Show’ deemed it “One of the metal albums of the year,” and Popmatters said, “the record positively scorches with an intensity not heard since Rust in Peace.” The band was also awarded the eighth Grammy nomination of its career for “Head Crusher,” which serves as more proof that ENDGAME is quickly earning “essential” status in the Megadeth catalog. Megadeth will appear on the season premiere of VH1 Classic’s “That Metal Show,” which airs Saturday, February 6, at 11 PM EST.

Legendary thrash metal titans Testament, whose latest award-winning release (2008 Album of the Year, MetalHammer’s Golden God Award) The Formation of Damnation, displays them as the quintessential modern heavy metal band, whose experience and accumulated skill allows them to attack with reserves of anger, energy and finesse that make them more powerful than ever. Lead singer Chuck Billy says, “Uniting these bands is the heavy metal event of generations. We are so proud to be a part of it.”

The complete, confirmed itinerary for the American Carnage North American Tour is as follows: